Vehicle body construction



A ril 6 1926. 1,579,466

K. 1.. CHILDS VEHICLE ow CONSTRUCTION g Filed Jan. 2, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Apri 6,1926. 1,579,466

K. 1.. CHILDS VEHICLE BODY CONSTRUCTION F iled Jan. 2, 1923 :5 Sheets-Sheet 2 alto/mag A ril .6, 1926. 1,579,466

' K. L. CHILDS VEHICLE BODY CONSTRUCTIO' Filed Jan. 2. 1923 3 Shuts-Sheet 3 ndeniam 11210 J. G'h'lds li. r

- Patented Apr. 6, 1926,,

UNITED sTAr s.

"OFFICE...

KENNE H L. CHILDS, oFf nTRoIT,rmiqnxeaimnssrenon o THE FABRIC Bomr'con- POBATION, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A 'CORZBQBATlON or IcHIqAN.

vnnIcLE BODY colasTnluoT oni l Application filed January To all whom it may ooncerm:

Be it known that I KENNETH L. CHILD'S, a

citizen of the United States, residing at De troit,'i-n'""the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Veh-icleBody Construction, of which'the'following is a specifioation. .5 1 1 .7 This invention-relates to automobile body construction and has for its object an auto.-

mobile body -which comprises a; skeleton frame and side 1 walls consisting of panels made up of separate frames thatcan be detachably hung; or secured tothe'skeleton frame.

I am aware that'it is not broadly new to Qmake up an automobile bodyof-sections that fit together. However, so far asIknow,

no onehas' ever constructed an, automobile panels when one is injur'ed'in a collision or it .permlts the.

otherwise. "Furthermore, shipping of the bodies in knocked down condition and allows thlntO be'put together in any suitable assembly or carriageplant. Furthermore, it has advantages in manufacturing economyas'the panel's maybe made up as separate parts and may beassembled together in the final assembly. I

j This form of construction 'also readily adapts itselfto a new form of body construction which I have describe diand claimed in my co-pending application No. 601,480 filed 'November 17, 1922' Itpermits the outside covering to be made of a ,compositemate'rial such as a wire mesh covered with suitable padding and Meritas? leather cloth or' any other suitable leather cloth. This forms an exterior finish that will not easily scratch or dent, but also has a very good luster'that is most attractive. Furthermore, the finish may be easily renewed'by revarnishing at stated periods.

These and other advantages will'be apbeen given.

In the drawings: a Fig. .l'is aside elevation of a body con struction with panel frames.

"Fig.4 is a section taken onyline 4 4-,of

" Fig. 5'isa detailed perspective showing how the panel frame dowels into the skeleton'ofthe body. .4 V

Fig. 6 is'a section taken on the line 6 '-6 of. Fig.- 3.

larly numbered-lines of Fig. 1. I y As is Well understood it'is the -prevailing byprov'idin'g a wooden skeleton frame havi ing suitable door and-window posts connect ing the roof supports with the sill. Roof supports are designated a; the door 'post' F igs..7 to 10. inclusive areisections on simiparent after the detailed description has] Fig. 2 isa sectiontaken on line of Fig. 3 is; a sectionltaken on line 3'3 of "practise to build automobile closed bodies I b;the -window'post 0:, and the sill d. This skeleton frame is ordinarily covered with metal panelsthat are foldedin at the edges over the frame members and nailed inplace.

-When any'ofthe panels arestove in orotherwise injured, it presents quite a problem of repla'cement.- It is usually a pretty expensive job and usually requires entire repaint ing of the body in order to make the parts match up. i,

p I employ the same general. type of skeleton frame that is nowused inclosed body construction; In place 'of" nailing these separate panels to the skeleton frame, I provide suitable meansbywhich the panels may be a separatelfra'me construction. This sepacided advantages. Oneiof thesel have already alluded to in the statement of inven tion. Another is that-it provides abracing connectionbetween-the] skeleton frame members that is especially advantageous where thepanel covering is a composite material such as I have described in myprevious application, and has not the strength of ordinary metal.

' To the door post 6' for instance, is secured rate frame construction has two very deby screws, the angle metal strip 0; a similar angle strip 7 is secured to the rear post it by screws. This rear post it is detailed in perspective in Fig. 5 and it will be seen that this angle strip is arranged to take alternately. screws and dowel pins as plainly indicated in Fig. 6 where screws are designated g and the dowel pins 2'. Now referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the panel j is one panel from the rear door post to the rear post it; the dowel pins 2' are fast in the panel j and can be fitted into the dowel holes in the rear panel m; the front of this panel y then fits in behind the angle strip 6 and may be secured in place by the screws 47,, forming a very easy assembly.

It will be seen that the door frame 0 is removably secured to the door stile p and fitted into an angle strip 1" and removably secured thereto by screws (7.

It will be understood that the door post panel 8 and the cowl panel 2f will lend themselves to a similar manner of attachment, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 respectively.

Above the belt moulding, the side and rear panels and door panels may be detachably secured in a similar way as is shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The tops of these panels may be secured behind the drip trough u and held firmly to the body bythe wood screws 12 driven in from the inside of the roof support a.

A'piping 00 may be used on the joints to conceal the same and on the doors the T moulding 1 may be used to conceal the joint.

The rear panel m is secured to the angle bars f at either end by screws 9 as will be apparent from comparing Figs. 3 and 6. The same joint is made between the side and rear panel above the moulding as is apparent from Fig. 10. i

IVhat I claim is:

1. In a vehicle body construction, the combination of a skeleton frame, a vpanel frame comprising frame members, and a covering material secured thereover, angle bars secured to the skeleton frame and projecting therefrom across the edges of the panel and means for detachably securing the panel frames to the angle bars.

2. In a vehicle body construction, the combination of a skeleton frame provided with upright posts, angle bars anchored to the posts and projecting outwardly therefrom, a panel frame provided with dowel pins to detachably fit into one angle bar, and screws for fastening the panel frame to another angle bar.

3. In a vehicle body construction, the combination of a skeleton frame provided with upright posts, a pair of bars secured to the posts and one provided with dowel holes and the other with screw holes, a panel frame provided with dowel pins at one end of the frame to fit into the dowel holes of the adjacent pair, and screws for detachably 4:. In a vehicle body construction the combination with a skeleton frame having a plurality of upright posts, of a plurality of panels, each having interlocking means on opposing end surfaces, and means for attaching each panel at its end face to one of the posts.

5. In a vehicle body construction, the combination of a skeleton frame for supporting the sides and rear wall of an automobile body, a plurality of panel frames comprising each a wooden frame having a covering material secured thereover, and means for detachably securing the panel frames to the skeleton frame and together to complete the enclosing shell of the body.

6. In a vehicle body construction, the combination of a skeleton frame for supporting the sides and rear wall of an automobile body, a plurality of panel frames comprising frame members provided with covering material, means for detachably securing the said frames to the skeleton frame and together to complete the enclosing shell of the body, and

means for concealing the joints made by such detachable panel frames.

7 In a vehicle body construction, the combination of a skeleton frame for supporting the sides andrear wall of an automobile body, a plurality of wooden frames having covering material stretched thereover, and means including dowels and screws for detachably securing the same to the body skeleton and to each other.

8. In a vehicle body construction, the combination of a skeleton frame, including a door post and a rear post, an angle bar secured to the door post, a second angle bar secured to the rear post, a rear panel frame, screws for securing the rear panel frame to the second angle bar, a side panel frame, dowel pins by which the side panel frame is secured to the second angle bar and screws by which the front of the side panel frame is removably secured to the first angle bar on the door post- 9. In a vehicle body construction the combination with a skeleton frame of a side wall consisting-of a plurality of panels, thin supporting webs projecting from the members of the skeleton frame between the panels, and means for securing the panels to the supporting webs.

'10. In a vehicle body construction the combination with a skeleton frame of a side wall consisting of a plurality of panels, thin supporting webs projecting from the members of the skeleton frame between the panels, and fastening devices passing through the webs into the panels substantially parallel to the outer surfaces of the panels.

r 11. In an automobile body construction, fastening devices for so detachably securing the combination of a skeleton frame pro the panel frames to the skeleton frame and vided with door posts and door stiles swingto each other, and means forconcealing the 10 inglysupported on some of the doors posts, joints and thetastening devices.

5 a plurality of separate panel frames ar- In testimony whereof I aflix my signa-. ranged to be detachably hung on the skeleture.

ton frame and detachlbly fitted together, 7 -KENNETHL. CHILDS. 

